Playing with Fire | Yuzuru Hanyu

15. Coveted

Aurora received the notification of her booking mere hours before she left his side and a smile was on her lips right away.

He hadn't been lying when he said he wanted to see her again.

It was with excitement that she entered her condo, already forgetting the huge amount of slides she had to study for her next class and how much she had been delaying the whole thing.

She had been the one saying that she didn't have much to do in the morning and truth be told, even if she hadn't stayed by his side on the bed, the most likely scenario would be staying on her own, sleeping or playing with her phone instead of studying.

Blaming Yuzuru for her procrastination skills was just wrong.

Now finally ready to catch up with her classes, Aurora found herself a bit too distracted while thinking about a certain Japanese guy.

Even when she finally opened the slides and started reading, Aliyah chose that time to show up at her condo and provide a bit more distraction.

"You never told me about that new client of yours."

"How do you even know that?"

Aurora hadn't said anything about a new client, which meant that the girls at the service were talking about her once again. She seemed to be quite the main topic around there.

"You know... the girls talk."

As much as she wanted to get a hold of herself and avoid any conflict, she hated most of the girls that worked there and the reality was that none of them was her fan either. Aurora was pretty much known for having a good and loyal list of clients that kept her busy throughout the month. Not every girl had the luxury of being able to relax and just wait for appointments.

"They should just focus on themselves instead of meddling with my business."

"Come on, Aurora... It's just curiosity. You know we don't get a lot of new guys."

"This one won't be a regular so it doesn't matter."

"He didn't like you?"

She didn't miss the surprise in Aliyah's tone but at the same time couldn't care less. She liked her friend but Aurora always had trouble trusting these people. In fact, not even Aliyah knew her whole story, even if she was one of the few who knew her real name.

"He's just not the type."

"Every guy is the type."

"Not this one, he doesn't need this."

It was only then that the other girl started staring at her.

"No?"

"No."

"That handsome, huh? I see... you just want to keep him for yourself."

"Don't be ridiculous."

There was no denying that there was a little competition going on between the girls. Every single one of them seemed to be waiting for a rich knight in shining armor to fall for them and take them the hell out of the business. The reality, however, was that most of the clients were married and with families, not giving a single shit about the girls once they gave them what they wanted.

"Rich, handsome and what? Don't tell me he's young too?"

Aurora knew well where Aliyah wanted to get. Those three things were pretty much the holy trinity of what every escort was looking forward to having. Given the prices that the company established, one of those parameters always checked out.

"It doesn't matter, now please, if you don't mind, I'm trying to study."

"Damn... please tell me you took good care of him and at least found a good chance to have him back to you."

"Why does it even matter to you? I'm the one getting paid."

Aliyah looked at her with a resented look and Aurora just shrugged her shoulders. She really didn't want to fight then but sharing anything about her endeavors with Yuzuru would probably get the other girl far more interested than she should be.

There was something about this one that she just wanted to keep for herself and away from the mess that was the main company and the other girls.

Not only that, jealousy was something that came easily with the job and Aurora didn't want any more problems than the ones she already had.

"I'm sorry that I asked..." Aliyah said, looking pissed at her.

"Listen, I just have a lot on my shoulders right now with the final exams coming up. I'm tense."

It wasn't necessarily the truth. Aurora just didn't want to share this one thing with the other girl and uni was just the perfect excuse.

"I know. I didn't mean to pressure you into saying anything but you know you can tell me things, right?"

"Sure, sure."

For the first time in a while, her friend left the condo mere moments after coming in but there was no doubt that the other girl was mad at her and there would be comments about it later on.

Finally being able to focus, Aurora tried her very best to forget the crazy days she had and all of the outside distractions. She had to study, she needed to finish her degree because, unlike a lot of the girls at the service, she never planned it to be a long-time thing.

Aurora wanted out as soon as she could find another job that would be sustainable enough to pay the bills.

And if she found herself in need of motivation, all she needed to do was forget about how nice Yuzuru was and remember some of the bastards that often booked her.

Because a lifetime of being used was far from what she wanted for herself, no matter how well it could pay.